The HEARTH Act will help reduce the amount of time families are homeless. Communities that have successfully reduced family homelessness have done so using rapid rehousing programs that help families move quickly into permanent housing and then provide services to ensure stability. Homeless families consistently say that the primary thing keeping them from exiting homelessness is the type of housing assistance provided by rapid rehousing programs.

The amendment promotes rapid rehousing by adding:

• An incentive for communities to develop rapid rehousing programs for homeless families;
• Selection criteria that reward communities that reduce family homelessness;
• An emergency solutions program that helps rehouse families who are doubled up or in other precarious situations before they ever become homeless;
• A requirement that at least 10 percent of funding be used for permanent housing for homeless families; and
• A federal goal that no family should be homeless for more than 30 days.

The HEARTH Act ensures that families with the greatest hardships aren't left behind.

• Families would be added to HUD's chronic homelessness initiative, which has helped house tens of thousands of adults who had been homeless for long periods of time and had significant disabilities.
• By retaining a definition of homelessness centered on people experiencing literal homelessness, the HEARTH Act ensures that homeless assistance continues to focus on the families that are living on the streets or in shelters. Research shows that these families are more likely to have experienced domestic violence, more likely to have poor health, and less likely to have strong support networks.
• At least 30 percent of funding must be used for permanent housing for people with
  disabilities, including homeless families headed by a person with an addiction, serious
  mental illness, post traumatic stress disorder, HIV/AIDS or other chronic illness.

The Amendment prevents family separation.
In some cases, family homeless assistance programs will only serve families with young children, which forces families with older children to choose between separating or not being able to receive shelter. The amendment adds a provision that prohibits shelters, transitional housing programs, and permanent supportive housing programs from discriminating against homeless families based on the age of their children.